Blood of a Bat: The Batgirl Legacy
by UnknownCallerGhostface
Summary: In a future where Damian is Batman and his adopted son is Robin, the position of Batgirl has been left alone for a long time. But when Barbara and Dick's daughter Gwen discovers her family legacy, she discovers her destiny as a hero. Will Batman and Robin accept her? Will her mother find out? Can Gwen be a good Batgirl? And who is the new Joker that should be dead? Find out inside!
1. Prologue

Prologue

Bruce Wayne successfully resurrected his son, Damian Wayne. Damian woke up to find he had aged for all the years he was dead. He continued to fight crime alongside Bruce and Barbara. They were an unstoppable fighting force that stood together as father son and friend. But Bruce started to get old, and Barbara wanted a career. Things would not keep going on like this.

On the final day of their time together, the Joker had once again escaped prison. He was determined to pull off his biggest plot yet. Bruce, Damian and Barbara fought mightily against Joker and his many traps and obstacles, but no one got out unscathed.

Barbara was badly injured in her left leg and was left bleeding while Batman and Robin ran off to fight. They found Joker and Harley. While Robin held off the love crazed psycho, Harley Quinn, Batman fought against his greatest enemy.

They were running out of time. No matter what Joker would pull of his plan. Unless a sacrifice was made.

The Joker's plan would go into effect any minute. The bombs were voice controlled and would detonate when Joker said a simple phrase, if he was restricted or gagged the cameras would see and set off the bombs and if he was knocked out they would automatically explode. Batman had one choice.

He grabbed the Joker and threw him near the edge of a building. But Joker grabbed his arm. As they fell, Joker restricted Batman's arms so he couldn't reach his Utility Belt and Robin had his hands full with Quinn.

They both hit the floor.

They both died.

Harley was arrested while Batgirl got medical help. Batman's death was a national tragedy.

Damian spent the next year in deep depression after his father's death. Batgirl could not fight, so Spoiler, Nightwing and Abuse were sent out to stop crime in Gotham. However, one day Damian was informed they had both been captured. Barbara told him being Batman was his purpose, his legacy.

He finally understood. He saw the angle his dad was coming from. A parent dead, a city in chaos. He was Batman. It was time to realise that.

He became Batman and saved Spoiler and Abuse, catching up with his two best friends along the way. The Dark Knight had returned.

He adopted a baby named Marcus and trained him for 12 years to become the new Robin. A father son dynamic duo that protected Gotham once again.

But there was one position that remained dormant: Batgirl.

After Barbara Gordon left the position, she discouraged any young girls who tried to become the new Batgirl. And if she didn't manage, Batman and Robin would.

Any girl who tried would instantly fail no matter what. But they didn't know the secret. You don't have to be super strong or a mega genius.

All you need is some Bat in your blood.


	2. The Legacy Revalation

Gwen Gordon-Grayson was a fourteen year old girl who's life was about to change. She never thought much of her parents. Her mother, Barbara Gordon, worked for the Government from home in IT. Her father, Richard Grayson, worked at Wayne enterprises, the biggest industry in Gotham.

People said Gwen looked like her mother. In some cases it was fine. She had her mothers eyes, had similar facial features, but it was when people said she had her mother's hair that annoyed her. Her mother was a true redhead, her hair very bright and straight. Gwen's hair was a darker red, almost auburn and quite wavy.

She was an ordinary girl. She wore glasses, a wool hat, jeans and a t-shirt to school where she excelled at Computing, Gym, math and English. A seemingly geeky girl, but one who had taken martial arts and gymnastics classes from a very young age, so if anyone tried to start anything, it wouldn't take long to get them to back off.

She was determined to be a police officer when she was older, but both her parents objected. "_It's dangerous,_" they said. "_you'll get hurt._"

She was also fascinated by the heroes of Gotham City, Batman and Robin. She loved the idea of heroes in her hometown. She sometimes wished to be a part of it, but her parents would no doubt forbid her. She had seen them in passing flying over rooftops while she was below rushing home trying to avoid the crime filled streets.

She never knew why her parents were so over protective and so vague about their past. Whenever Jen asked how her parents met, it would always be met with a simple "On the job." and whenever she asked about 'the job' they would quickly change the subject.

She had no clue about her parents. She knew nothing of them, except they loved each other a lot more than ordinary parents. Maybe it had something to do with the past they were so rooted too.

But one cold morning, she would discover everything.

Gwen gazed dreamily out of the window of her mother's car, ignoring the world and letting thoughts race about her head. "So, are gymnastics training sessions starting again soon?" asked her mother, who had made sure her daughter never knew of her past as the Batgirl.

Gwen didn't answer.

"I'm sorry, obviously the window has something more important to say." said Barbara sarcastically. "Sorry mum." Gwen chuckled. "I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it."

"Well, I hope it does. You have gotten really good. Almost as good as me when I was younger."

"While your modesty is much appreciated, mum," Gwen joked, much like her mother would at her age. "I don't really care if gymnastics starts again. I can already do it well. And I can do martial arts. I could protect myself in any. . ."

"Stop." said Barbara firmly, seeing where this was heading. "You are _not_ joining the GCPD."

Gwen gave a huffy sigh. "But why not? Why are you so against this?!"

"You have no idea how unsafe this city is, Gwen! Somewhere else, maybe. But not here, never."

"I live here, mom! I know how unsafe it is! How would you know about this?"

"My past in this city is none of your business! You are not joining the police."

"You are ridiculous." groaned Gwen, arms crossed in anger.

When they pulled up at school, Barbara grabbed Gwen's shoulder. "I'm sorry I yelled." said Barbara. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I'm just trying to protect you."

"I know , mom. But can we just talk about it, one day? When I'm 18!"

"That seems fair." Barbara admitted. "But you have to do well in school."

"Yes! Thanks, mom!" Gwen said, hugging her mother briefly.

"I'll see you later, Gwen."

"Bye." she said as she got out of the car and slung her schoolbag on her shoulder.

"Hey, Gwen!" a male voice shouted. Gwen looked right and saw her friends, Holly, Jean and Jerry waving to her. She ran over and greeted them. They chatted about comics, video games and movies until the bell rung, sending them to their registration class.

"Hey." whispered Jerry. "There's a new kid starting school today."

"Really, who?" asked Holly excitedly.

"I heard he's rich!" said Jean.

"So, in other words, Jean, you're going to date him?" Jen joked. They laughed quietly as their middle aged, female teacher glared at them.

"Be quiet!" she said strictly.

"Sorry, Miss Quinzell." Jen said.

They continued to chat about the new kid until they got to their computer class.

After five minutes, Gwen and her friends started to think maybe there was no new kid. But then a boy with brown hair and piercing green eyes entered the classroom with a smug smile, almost arrogant, and looked around as if to say he was better than everyone else.

Some of the girls gaped as he walked in, obviously finding the tall, lean boy attractive. Gwen, however, was unimpressed with his gallous attitude. "Hi, there." said Mr Drake, their teacher. "Kids, this is Marcus Wayne. You might know his dad, Damian Wayne. The owner of Wayne enterprises."

"Who's also you're brother." pointed out Marcus.

"Just get to your seat."

"Okay, Tim."

"It's Mr Drake here, Marcus."

"We both know that's not happening." Marcus scoffed.

"Clearly you got your dad's attitude."

Marcus rolled his eyes as he chose a seat next to Gwen. "Okay." said the teacher. "Everyone talk about what you're going to do for your graphics project. Gwen, you team up with Marcus and tell him what he missed."

Reluctantly, Gwen turned to the brash brown haired boy she was force to team up with. "So, you're Damian Wayne's son? Why are you at public school with us peasants?"

Marcus laughed. "I got kicked of private school out for setting the classroom on fire. So my dad sent my here."

"Well, bad choice coming here, because this place is boring as hell."

"The rest of the city is pretty exciting."

"I wouldn't know. My mom won't let me arms length away from her."

"That sucks. Hey, I never asked your name."

"Gwen Gordon."

Marcus nodded then seemed to go into deep thought for a moment. His eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "Is your mother Barbara Gordon?"

Gwen was shocked. How did he know that? "Yeah?" she said finally.

"So, do you know. . ."

"Know what?"

"Oh. . ." he said with a smirk. "You don't know."

"Know what?" Gwen hissed.

Before Marcus could answer, he heard his phone buzz. He stealthily picked it up and held it to his ear. "What is it, dad? . . . Already?! Alright."

"I need to go." he said quietly to Gwen.

"Go?! But. . . "

"Tim!" said Marcus, turning to the front of the class. Tim looked at him.

"I need to go."

"Go? But. . ."

"Tim. I need to _go._" said Marcus, slower. Tim seemed to understand something Gwen was missing. Tim nodded and Marcus left. Gwen had to find out what he meant. She raised her hand. "Can I go to the toilet?"

"Okay, but be back soon." Tim said.

Gwen got up and rushed to the door. She left and ran down the hall to catch Marcus. His eyes widened in fear. "Gwen!"

She wondered what he was so scared of until she looked at his unzipped bag, and inside saw a dark red, armoured costume with a golden "**R**" in a circle on the right. The costume she had seen so many times on the news and on the streets.

"Gwen, I-" he choked on his words, caught in his charade. Gwen made the connection very quickly.

"Your dad is Batman. And you're. . . **_Robin!_**"


	3. A Face of the Past

"Oh, my-" Marcus cupped a hand over Gwen's mouth, stifling her shocked cries.

"Shut up! Yes, yes I'm Robin!" Marcus whispered.

"Oh, my God, I can't believe this!" Gwen said, her voice now an excited whisper. She had met the masked boy wonder of Gotham city!

"You can't tell anyone!"

Gwen thought for a second. How could she use this to her advantage? The answer came, and a sly grin crept across her face. "Okay. I won't tell. _If_you tell me what you were talking about in class about my mother." She demanded, arms crossed firmly over her chest, a glimmer of superiority in her eye.

Marcus gave a defeated sigh. "Fine." he hissed. "The original Batman was Bruce Wayne, my dad Damian was Robin. Your dad was Nightwing, and your mother was Batgirl."

Gwen almost collapsed. Was he serious? The Batgirl? Her mother? And her father was _Nightwing?_ How did she not know this? Was that "the job" her parents referred to so often?!

"Your parents quit when Batman died. My Dad became Batman then adopted me to become Robin. They stopped anyone else from trying to be Batgirl. Because she isn't connected to Batman and Robin, and could easily get hurt. Even die. Several girls had the "Batgirl" role. Cassandra Cane, Stephanie Brown, Helena Bertinelli and Betty Kane."

Gwen was speechless. Her own mother, a superhero. Her father as well. They never told her. They never wanted her to know. Because they knew what Gwen would then try to do...

"Now will you keep quiet?" Marcus said. Gwen was so gob smacked she couldn't even respond for a few seconds. "My parents..." she croaked.

"I know, cool, huh?" Marcus smiled.

"Wait, so you're going to go fight crime right now?!"

"Pretty much."

"This is way too crazy for me to take in."

"Really?"

"How do you even react to this? Like should I laugh or yell?"

"Look." said Marcus, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I get that this is a lot to take in. Maybe you should look up Batgirl online, see exactly what your mother was up to, then there's no more mystery." There was a loud beeping from Marcus' phone. "I'm, sorry, I need to go!"

Gwen was left in silence as Marcus, a boy she had just met and had just revealed her parent's biggest secret, left to put on a mask and fight crime.

She was utterly stunned. Frozen. Paralyzed.

As Marcus jumped across the rooftops of Gotham, masked and with a black cape, he wondered what exciting adventure awaited him. A robbery? An evil plot? Whatever it was, he was just happy he got out of math class. He spotted the GCPD building ahead and glided over, full of energy and excitement. Although he acted like he didn't care about anything, he took great joy in flying over rooftops and fighting evil. It was just about the only fun thing to do in Gotham City.

He landed on the roof a few seconds before the Dark Night swooped down from the afternoon grey skies and lightly landed on next to Robin. "So, do you know what this is about?" Robin asked.

"No." Said Damian, in his low, disguised Batman voice. "But it seems urgent. Commissioner Wilkes?"

The red-haired police Commissioner Colin Wilkes walked briskly over to the Batman and Robin. "There's been a string of robberies. Twenty dead, a lot more injured."

"So, who is it?" Batman asked.

Colin sighed, sadness in his eyes. "We looked over the CCTV pictures. As far as we can tell, it was. . ."

Colin handed over the pictures. Damian was confused. Why was his friend acting so strange? But when he looked at the pictures, he realised. No. It couldn't be. The acid green hair, the blood red smile, the chalk white skin, the evil in his dead eyes. It was the Joker.

"No. . ." whispered Damian. "NO!" he yelled as he threw the pictures down. "My father DIED killing him, he's _not_ alive!"

"It's not the same Joker, Damian." Colin explained. "It's a new psycho. But he's just as bad. And we have word that he's just about to strike on fifth avenue bank."

"Well, let's go!" Marcus exclaimed as he dropped down towards the Batmobile.

"Hey," said Colin, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll beat him. But you better get going. See you later."

"Bye Colin."

As Batman turned to jump into the Batmobile, Colin stopped him. "Just remember." he said. "I still have my powers. I can help you whenever."

"Thanks." said Damian coldly. He was furious. Not with Colin, but with the fact that his father died saving Gotham from The Joker and now some psycho was re-creating the terror. He was going to find and stop this Joker once and for all.

Jen sat, staring at the computer screen, completely silent. When lunch time came around and she still new nothing about her mother's time as Batgirl, she decided to head up to the library and use a school computer to find out.

But she was hesitating. Once she did this, she would have to silently live knowing a wonderful secret and not know anything. Once she knew, she would be dragged into this world. But she had to know.

She typed "Batgirl" into the Google search bar and clicked Enter. She clicked on the Gotham News website to see all the stories linked to her mother. It was amazing! There were countless pictures of her next to other heroes and by herself, defeating villains with peculiar names like "Killer Moth" and "Mr. Freeze". Her mother's costume was in earlier stories blue, black, white and yellow, in other stories purple and finally yellow and black. The stories were fascinating and wonderful, until she came across the final story with her mother. She saw awful pictures as she read the story "Batman's Final Fight".

She saw The Joker and Batman dead, her mother with a badly disfigured leg and Robin with a broken arm. There was also Harley Quinn being loaded into a Police van in the same picture. So _that_ was why her mother didn't want her fighting crime as a police woman! Because she had been so badly injured when she did it! It all made sense now.

But, the question is, what will she do with this information?


	4. The Bat, The Bird and the Jester

**NOTE: Okay, so , thanks for reading and please review, but also just know that this will focus mostly on Batman and Robin (along with someone else) finally meeting the Joker and taking down a small scheme by him. But then, we'll get back to Jen! So keep reading! I hope you enjoy!**

**PS: The guy that was upset about Tim not doing much will like this chapter.**

"Gotham Bank, 5th Avenue, Approaching." Marcus said, authoritively, determination in his eyes. Damian smiled at his son, happy to see he had just that same amount of confidence and desire to take control as he had back when he was fourteen. One day, he would make a fine Batman. He had chosen well.

Batman went back to his determined state of mind. The Joker. No, an impostor. He couldn't tell which was worse: that the Joker was back, or that someone actually wanted to re-create his actions.

Batman went over the mission once more in his mind. Sneak in, save the hostages, stop the henchmen, and arrest the Joker. Don't skimp on the violence. They had arrived, two blocks away. The Dynamic Duo speedily left the car and used their grapple hooks to shoot to the top of a building.

"Ready?" asked Damian.

"When am I not?" scoffed Marcus.

The two quickly leapt across a few of the buildings, until they could see the bank, but they were still out of sight. Marcus pulled out his binoculars and held them to his eyes. He scanned the building.

"What do you see?" asked Batman.

"The Usual," Marcus answered. "Guarded at the outside, police trying to help but they can't negotiate to save their lives, and from what I can see on the inside, they rounded up all the workers and put them in a small room with a guy at the door who has a machine gun. This should be easy. Guess the new joker isn't as bad as the old one."

"Too easy." said Batman, suspiciously. "There has to be a catch. This guy is clearly obsessed with the Joker, he's gonna pay homage somehow. Keep an eye out and don't stay too far away. I've told you what the Joker is capable of."

"But this _isn't_the Joker." Marcus pointed out. Damian narrowed his eyes. "Marcus..." he warned.

Marcus backed down. He knew how touchy Damian was when it came to the Joker and his Grandfather. Bruce Wayne. The first Batman. Marcus sometimes wondered what he was like...

"Okay, let's move out." Marcus said. Marcus and Damian dropped to the alley below and ran around to the area of the bank, taking care not to be seen by anyone. They ran around to the least guarded side and took out two batarangs each. They aimed at the four heads guarding the left side of the building. Even if they had done it a million times before, it was essential they got a precise hit or the whole operation could go to hell.

They threw the metal bats and, sure enough, got every hit right. "Yes..." whispered Marcus, who still got a great deal of satisfaction from taking down enemies. A smirk on his face, he and Batman rushed to the side of the building. The policemen knew better than to act like they had arrived. If the henchmen Batman and Robin were here, they would kill every hostage in there and make off with the money. They had to be careful.

They quickly climbed up to the top of the building and found a hatch. Marcus hesitated to enter. "You're right. There's something off here." Slowly and cautiously, he opened the hatch. After a few seconds of silence, he looked in, scanning carefully. It seemed safe. He silently dropped into the dark, murky room. He heard muffled sobs coming from the captives. Robin remembered that there was one guard right outside where the hostages were. "Damian, go over there. Drop down on three."  
"Are you sure?"

Marcus scoffed. "Stupid question."

Damian rolled his eyes, but followed the instruction. He was trying to teach his son to take more leadership rules, conditioning him for the role of Batman. Damian knew that he could be bested at any point.

Damian raised one finger. Then a second. Finally a third. They both broke through the thing wooden roof. Damian dropped a smoke bomb and expected to take out some easy henchmen, but this time, it was he who was surprise attacked!

A large group of henchmen caught Batman and pinned him to the floor, beating him mercilessly with their guns. Due to the smoke, Robin could not see this and continued beating the guard outside the door until he was down. When the smoke cleared, Robin looked into the room filled with hostages, but only saw dummies with a recording playing. But under them... the actual dead bodies of the hostages! Vomit rose in Robin's throat, and suddenly he realised what his father was talking about. He turned around, and found himself staring into the barrel of a gun. Before they could grab him, Robin hit a small button in the middle of his belt, before he was tackled to the floor and held there.

He and his father struggled mightily against their captors, kicking violently and twisting, but the henchmen had too strong a grip to break. After the minutes of struggling ceased, the room lay silent. Until, a tap, tap, tap of shoes entered the room, getting increasingly louder. A woman dressed in a red and black Harlequin costume bounced in front of Batman and Robin, staring down at them condescendingly. "Mr. J!" she called in a shrieking, shrill voice. "We got 'em!"

Footsteps were heard once again as the duo saw the new Joker enter the room. Damian was dumbstruck. He resembled the original Joker in every way. It was unbelievable. Not a single detail off.

"Now, the fun begins..."

While this was happening, Tim Drake sat at his desk, marking papers, boredom setting in during the lengthy lunch period at the school. He loved his job, and his students, but marking papers was his only little thing he didn't like. He looked at his watch. Over half an hour to go. He let out a lengthy sigh and sank into his chair.

When his phone buzzed, he pounced on it, hoping for a reminder for a doctor's appointment he forgot, anything to get away from the stack of papers. It was not what he expected, but it was an escape. Robin sent out the signal. It was time for Red Robin to fly.

"Who are you?" Batman demanded, still struggling and straining against the henchmen. The new Joker smiled and giggled crazily. "Now, why spoil the surprise this early on in the game?"

"This is your definition of a game? _Murder?!_" Robin exploded, angry that he could not overpower his opponents. It had never happened before. He was starting to panic. This man had killed many times, why not again.

_No,_he thought. _He'll be here any minute._

"Oh, you're not a fan?" the Joker said sarcastically, an over dramatic frown on his face before instantly regaining his psychotic happy demeanour. "Well then, let's play 'Don't Pass Out'!"

Before Robin could react, a wet rag covered in chloroform was held against his face. In 30 seconds, he could no longer fight. He let the darkness take him. "What do you plan to do with him?!" yelled Batman, worriedly. The Joker gave another psychotic cackle. "Well, I can promise you, you'll never see it-"

**_CRASH!_**

The Skylight above them caved in as Red Robin glided downwards in his red and black costume, aiming for the henchmen that had a hold on Batman and Robin. With some sweeping kicks and a few strikes from his staff, he released both of the heroes in enough time for Batman to get up and join the fight.

"Nice to see you, Tim." Damian said, preparing to fight. The first guard launched himself at Batman, who effortlessly threw him into the wall.

"You too, Damian. Err, is Marcus okay?" said Tim as he jumped forward and kicked away two of the Joker's men.

"He's been chloroformed. Get him to high ground while I fend these guys off."

Red Robin nodded and grabbed Robin, grappling him up to a safe place. Batman leaped forward and sent flying a series of punches, elbows and kicks at all angles, knocking out the first wave. But there were more where that came from. As more armed henchmen entered the room, Red Robin flew down to help his brother, only to see the Joker filling bags with money and throwing them into a truck. He knew Damian was safe for now, so he ran at the joker, pulling out his staff. He twirled it at Joker's guards, easily taking them out, until a red shoe caught his chain and threw him backwards. He looked up to see Harley and the Joker, back once again. He raised his staff at the new Harley. "If I can beat the real thing, I can beat the carbon copy."

Harley giggled. "I'd find you a lot more threatening if your little friends weren't being taken down over there."

Tim turned to see Batman being overwhelmed by a swarm of henchmen that he was unable to fend off fast enough, then he saw more henchmen climbing up to where Robin was.

"So," said Harley." Are you gonna kick me around or save your friends? You only have time for one."

Tim shot daggers at Harley, furious that he had to let her go. He turned, hearing their mocking laughter as he climbed up the rope the henchmen were using to reach Robin and knocking them off one by one, then swooped down and in minutes, helped Batman knock out the henchmen. They turned, and the Joker was gone.

"Damn it." said Batman and Red Robin simultaneously. They heard Robin stirring above them and leapt up to greet him. "You okay?" asked Damian with genuine concern. Marcus sat up, defeat in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I let him get away."

"Hey, we all have at one point." said Tim encouragingly. "We can take care of them later. For now, we need to get back to school. And Damian, you need to go to work."

Damian crossed his arms. "You know, when I became Batman, I expected people to stop telling me what to do."

"Just go, Damian."

"See you later, Dad." said Marcus as he and Tim ran off out of the building, heading to the school.

Damian sat, cursing himself. His father made a sacrifice matched by no other, and now someone was trying to undo that. A tear came to his eye as he remembered the night 17 years ago, when he was 13. When he lost his father. He had to stop the Joker. If it was the last thing he did.

It was nearing the end of lunchtime when Gwen decided to visit her Uncle Tim in his classroom. Now that she knew her parents story, she had to know why one of her father's closest friends kept it from her she stepped into his classroom to see her Uncle shoving something red into a small bag. "Uncle Tim?" she called quietly.

He seemed startled to see her and kicked the bag under his desk quickly. "Hi, Gwen. What's up?" Gwen thought his behaviour to be highly unusual, but brushed it off for the more serious issue. It was time to find out what he knew.

"Why didn't you tell me my mother was Batgirl?"


	5. A Past Mask

**NOTE: Sorry it took so long to upload and sorry it's so long, but please stick with it!**

"Uncle Tim, why didn't you tell me?" Gwen said again, louder. Tim did not know how to respond. How did she find out?! He had always been so careful! Everyone had! Damian, Barbara, Dick, Jason, him, Cass, Steph... then a thought crossed his mind.

"Did Marcus tell you?" Tim asked.

"Yes." Gwen replied. "I also know he's Robin, my dad was Nightwing and that Uncle Damian is Batman."

"Did he also tell you I was Red Robin?"

Gwen's jaw dropped. "No! For God's sake, is there anyone in my family that isn't a superhero?" Jen yelled, exhausted with all of this new information.

"Gwen, just calm do-"

"I will not calm down!" Gwen interrupted loudly. "My entire family is some kind of... superhero organisation and has kept it a secret from me for my whole life, and I want to know why!" she demanded.

Tim sighed. "Okay. You really want to know?"

Gwen nodded. She had to know why this was kept under wraps for so many years.

"It's because you're too much like your mother. You are strong but you're also careless and you jump into things without thinking, because you want to help. That's all well and good, but that's what your mother did and she ended up getting paralyzed for three years. We knew you would try to do the same thing. So we made a vow never to let any of our kids know. So my son Jayden can't know, Stephanie Brown's daughter can't know, and you especially were never supposed to know! Look, I know it's upsetting, but we're trying to save your life. I was Robin for a while, I was tortured three times! Do you know how awful your mother would feel if that happened to you, since she went through it herself? Please, I'm begging you, don't try and follow in your mother's footsteps! You'll get hurt." Tim looked at Gwen pleadingly.

Gwen understood why it was a secret. She never thought about it that way. They were trying to save her. She got it now. "Okay." she said. "I won't try to be Batgirl."

"Thank you." said Tim. "It's for the best."

The bell rung, signalling that classes were starting up again. Gwen started to leave, but stopped abruptly. "There's something I don't get." she said. "I only met Marcus today, but I've seen Uncle Damian a ton of times."

"That's because Marcus went to boarding school. And when he wasn't there, he was patrolling with Batman or out with friends. No one ever brought him up, so you never heard about him."

"It still seems weird I had no idea."

"Gwen, it was better you didn't know him. He has a hard time keeping his secret! Look, one day here and now you know about everything. We never brought him up in the conversation, because then you'd want to meet him and undoubtedly he'd tell you everything."

"Oh, okay, that makes sense. Hey, Uncle Tim, don't tell my mother I know. She'll get worried. I don't want her to think I'm gonna go out there."

"Your secret's safe with me." he said. Gwen walked out of her classroom and bumped into Jean.

"Oh, hi Jean."

"Hey, Gwen. So, did you hear about what happened at lunch?"

"I heard a lot of things at lunch." Gwen replied.

"There was a bank robbery! Batman, Robin _and_Red Robin were all there, and they saw some guy called the Joker, but he got away! Can you believe it!"

"This lunchtime?"

"Yeah!"

Gwen was stunned. That was what Tim was putting away! He had been out fighting at lunch!

"Hey, you wanna hear something crazy?" asked Jean, pulling Gwen out of her daydream.

"Oh. Sure."

"I tried to be Batgirl once." Jean whispered. Gwen turned to her friend, mouth agape in shock. "Oh, my God! What?!"

"Yeah. I had a costume and everything. It was all black except from a big yellow bat at the front. It was so cool. But then some woman on a rooftop told me about some of the things that other Batgirls went through, and I mean some pretty sick stuff. So, before I could get into one fight, I went home. And that was that."

"Why did you try to be Batgirl?"

"I don't know! I just... I guess I didn't want to spend me entire time as a teenager being a dumb, blonde, nuisance to society. I wanted to do something, you know?"

"Yeah." said Gwen. She did understand the feeling of uselessness Jean was describing. She too had felt powerless and unable to do anything worthwhile. As a teenager, she was often reprimanded as being good for nothing, but how could she be good for something if no one would let her do anything?

Well, she could do something...

_No._she thought. _You heard what Tim said. You'll get yourself killed. Don't try to be Batgirl. It won't end well. Even If you're just trying to help._

At the end of a long school day, Marcus was ready to just collapse on the floor. He was not impressed by his new classmates, who in his mind were simple primates. Well, Gwen seemed okay, but that was really it. Every boy at this school was a sports crazed ape.

He ran to the bus, eager to get home, away from these idiots. As he got on the noisy, crowded bus, he looked around for an empty seat, but they were all full. No wait... there was one empty spot. Gwen was sat there alone in deep thought with no one beside her. He quickly made his way up the bus and sat next to Gwen, who took no notice of him. "Hey." he said. Gwen gave a slight jump. "Oh." she said. "Hi. You enjoy your first day?"

"The highlight of today was getting chloroformed by the Joker." Marcus replied

"Oh, right! I heard about that! He got away?"

"Yeah." said Marcus in a disappointed tone, still sore about his recent defeat. "And even worse, the guy's insane. No telling what he'll do."

"I'm sure it's nothing the Dynamic Duo can't beat."

"I'm not so sure. He outsmarted us once, we had to call in backup. I think we have to be careful this time around. Hey, why are you sitting all alone?" Marcus said, changing the subject.

"My friends are all walking distance from home and I'm a couple of miles from home so I just take the bus. How far away are you?"

"A few miles, I'm probably the last stop. By the time I get home there might be another crime happening and once again I'll have no time to even stop for a breath."

"Must be difficult."

"You get used to it after a while." said Marcus with a small shrug.

"You really think the Joker will have already done something by the time you get home?"

"From what my Dad told me, it's pretty likely."

Gwen would have asked more questions had it not been her stop right about then. The bus slowed to a complete halt to let Gwen off. She said goodbye to Marcus and got off the bus. She quickly entered her house and quickly walked up to her third story apartment.

She unlocked the door and walked inside. Her mother was by the oven, preparing a meal. As Jen walked further inside, she saw that her mother was also keeping one eye on the computer. She never took a break from work when it was important. She was fully dedicated to family and career. Nothing else. When her kids needed her but the government did too, it was like she could be in two places at once. Which now that Gwen thought about it, made sense based on her former... career.

"Hi, mom." said Gwen.

"Oh, hey, Gwen. How was school?" her mother replied.

"Okay. There was a new kid there. Marcus Wayne."

Her mother slowed down typing on her computer, then stopped briefly, then carried on. "Oh. How's he?"

"He's okay. Kind of arrogant, but pretty cool."

"Did you two have much to talk about?"

Gwen knew what her mother was thinking. Had Marcus told her?

"Just bands, and TV. You know, the usual stuff."

Barbara seemed to relax. One of the things Gwen got from Barbara was the ability to lie effortlessly. As far as she knew, Gwen knew nothing about her parents past. Barbara was quite happy. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Gwen started to wonder if her parents had anything left over from their days as crime-fighters. She recalled her parents shooing her out of their room when she was five whenever she got near the closet. Her mother was pre-occupied with two things. They weren't speaking. It was a perfect time to search their room. She dropped her bag soundlessly to the floor and padded cautiously yet quickly to her parent's room. She was safely inside. Her mother hadn't noticed her.

She opened the closet door slowly, trying to avoid any squeaking of the hinges. It was a mess of coloured dresses, shirts, trousers and skirts for every occasion. It was tough to search through it without leaving some indication of her being there. With her mother's eidetic memory and keen eye for detail (which she now realised would have helped her greatly in her crime-fighting career) it was almost impossible not to mess something up that would give her away.

As carefully as she could, she reached beneath the pile of clothes and felt something hard. It had corners and was covered by a plastic bag. It was hidden right at the back. She slowly slid it out and took the black box out of the plastic bag. She opened it and inside she saw it. The Bat-symbol. One dash of yellow on a black costume. She unfolded it and laid it out. In the box there were also yellow gloves with three spikes on each one, a blue mask connected to a cape of the same colour, flat boots and a bulky belt with another bat in a circle at the front of it. In the pockets she found grappling hooks, batarangs and other various gadgets. It was amazing.

"Gwen?!" gasped a voice from behind her. She whipped around. Her father! She had forgotten he had an early finish that day. She struggled for words, an explanation. Instead, she stood up and looked her father in the eye.

"Guess what? I know that you're Nightwing."

Her father gasped.

"And I know you're married to Batgirl."


End file.
